The Sports Xchange

BEREA, Ohio — Josh McCown, with his seventh NFL team, began his 13th year of spring practice Tuesday. But for the first time since this all began in 2002, McCown is working as the first team quarterback for the Cleveland Browns.

When the Browns opened this week’s organized team activities Tuesday, McCown seemed assertive and in control on a muggy afternoon at the team training complex. He is trying to hold off second-year quarterback Johnny Manziel.

McCown threw the ball crisply and it was easy to see he’s comfortable and eager to put his 1-10 record as a starter for Tampa Bay last year behind him.

“The approach for me is the same as far as expectations and the way you want to set the tone,” McCown said after practice. “We’re a new group. Any time you come together as a new group, there are going to be growing pains. But I think for us, we understand within this division and the offenses you have and the quarterbacks on the other teams we have to set the bar high early to speed up that learning curve.”

Safety Donte Whitner is in his second year with the Browns. When he played with the San Francisco 49ers, he faced McCown when McCown played for the Chicago Bears. He said the Browns got a winner when they signed McCown in late February.

“Josh looks good,” Whitner said. “He looks really, really good. I remember playing against him in Chicago a couple years ago when I was with San Fran. We actually thought he looked better than Cutler, especially when he gets some time to throw the football and he has some skill guys around him. He knows where to go.”

McCown is 17-32 as a starter while playing for the Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Oakland Raiders, Carolina Panthers, Bears and Buccaneers.

Naming McCown the starter for now eliminates the distractions of a quarterback battle. Manziel could still win the job with an impressive training camp and preseason.

Manziel is running the second team offense. He has not been made available to the media since the end of the 2014 season; he entered rehab on Jan. 28 and was discharged on April 11.

If McCown does start the season opener against the Jets in MetLife Stadium, he will be the 23rd different quarterback to start for the Browns since they returned to the NFL in 1999.

Cleveland’s OTA this week run through Thursday.